Normandy products - Seafood, cheese, lamb, apples, Calvados, cider - Normandy Tourism, France Products Seafood Heaven With its extensive coastline, seafood is one of Normandy's specialities, from shellfish, to lobster, clams, whelks, scallops, mussels and oysters from the Manche and Calvados. Oysters are classified, like cheeses and wines, with their own AOC (Controlled Origin Name). Seafood will feature on most menus from Dieppe to Alençon which often combine fish with the region's other culinary specialities, such as Sauce à la Crème or au Camembert. Particular treats is Dieppe's fish stew, called Marmite Dieppoise or Port en Bessin's famous scallops or Coquilles St Jacques. Meat eater's paradise Normandy's main courses are often meat-based. Poultry is common on regional menus, including the tasty Canard à la Rouennaise using local duck from the Seine Valley but other types of meat such as veal or pork feature too, frequently cooked in cream or cider.

Another local treat is "Pré Salé lamb", often served in the southern part of the Manche and given this name because the sheep are reared on the salt marshes surrounding Mont St Michel. Further inland you are likely to come across more traditional dishes chitterling from Vire, andouille in French, or black pudding in the Perche area. Tripe is another Norman speciality, traditionally from Caen. Dream cheese Normandy's cheese board is of the most impressive in France, and contains the best-known types of cheeses outside its local area. Its most famous cheese is Camembert which comes from the village of the same name near Vimoutiers, but you can also try Neufchâtel, produced in a variety of different shapes and sizes, Pont-L'Evêque and Livarot. Cheese is in France usually served between the main course and dessert. Sweet tooth Whether eaten as a dessert, or as a treat with afternoon tea, many of Normandy's sweet dishes are based on apples, such as the delicious apple tart. Another Norman speciality is the milky rice pudding or "Teurgoule" made with creamy local products.

For those with a seriously sweet tooth, try the "Sucres de Pommes" from Rouen, an apple candy, or buttery Isigny toffees. A little tipple The abundance of apples which flavour both savoury and sweet dishes also means that Normandy boasts a wide range of other apple bi-products, most notably cider, poiré or Pear liquor, pommeau and calvados. The famous shot of calvados with apple ice cream, or "Trou Normand" is a traditional way to clear the palate between courses of typically rich Norman food. Another liqueur of the region is Bénédictine, which can be drunk with ice before a meal, or afterwards, on its own, as a digestive. It is also sometimes used as a base for many famous cocktails. What about tasting Trou Normand and Bénédictine ? Not to be missed Regions of France | Lower Normandy Region of France - Food & Gastronomy - Cheeses ﻿ Basse Lower Normandy Cheeses Lower Normandy Camembert, Pont l'Evêque and Livarot are creamy cheeses highly appreciated worldwide.

Part of the traditional French refined produce, Norman cheeses are originally handmade from Normandy unpasteurised cow's milk. The rural Normandy region indeed has been respecting the authentic techniques of production, becoming a favourite destination for both French gourmets and foreign tourists. Camembert Cheese The traditional camembert from Lower Normandy is one of the best known French cheeses. With a fresh, soft and fruity taste, this creamy cheese can be compared to good wines : the more camembert ages, the sharper its taste is. Indeed, beside maturing for an average of 6 weeks, this authentic Norman produce is made out from unpasteurised milk, which gives it a richer and more complex flavour. Some gourmets like to relish Normandy cheese when it is ripe with a butter-smooth interior, whilst other prefer it a bit younger with a paler, drier layer in the middle. Whichever affinage (cheese maturing) you prefer, do not forget to accompany it with a tasty French wine! Top Tip!

Made for the first time at the end of the 18th century by the farmer Marie Harel, in the village of Camembert, the tasty Norman cheese was highly appreciated then by Napoleon III who served it at his banquets. In 1880 the engineer Ridel had the idea to wrap Camembert in a box of thin wood to sell it - and even export it - more easily. The latest crucial step that made Camembert a renowned French product was in 1983 when it received the French AOC Quality Label. Pont l'Evêque Cheese French Pont l’Evêque cheese is solely produced in Normandy, recognizable by its small square shape and pale orange rind. Dating back to the 13th century, this creamy produce is one of the oldest cheeses of Lower Normandy. Pont l'Evêque was first called "Angelot" and used as a trading currency for taxes and wages. The cheese then took the name of the village in Normandy where it was mainly produced, Pont l'Evêque in the Calvados department.

Since 1972 when this cheese received the AOC label, this authentic French cheese has been produced respecting the strict rules dictated by the French Quality Appellation. The unpasteurised cow's milk is first heated at about 35ºC. The resulting curds and whey are scooped into round moulds and pressed to drain off the whey. Once moulded, the paste is regularly turned (for the draining), and after 2 to 5 days, the cheeses are unmoulded and salted. Between the 5th and 10th day, Pont l'Evêque is washed and brushed many times. The final affinage lasts between 2 and 6 weeks. Top Tip! To fully enjoy Pont l'Evêque's creamy and full-bodied flavour, typical from the French countryside, do try it with other Normandy produce like ripe pears, fresh or roasted, or strawberries - without forgetting a glass of local wine ! Livarot Cheese The Norman Livarot cheese is also locally known as "Colonel" because of the stripes on its rind resulting from the sedge leaves wrapped around each cheese to prevent the weakest pastes from collapsing.

Indeed, such bindings look like the stripes on Colonels' military uniform! It is believed in this region of France that Livarot's producing has monastic origins. Whatever its history, this refined creamy cheese from Lower Normandy is today made out with the same process than other delicious cheeses of Normandy such as Pont l'Evêque and Pavé d'Auge, hence the Livarot's typical washed rind and pungent aroma. Besides its rind is rather brown-orange due to the annatto washings. Camembert de Normandie - Cheese.com Find over 1750 specialty cheeses from 74 countries in the world's greatest cheese resource Camembert de Normandie Marie Harel, created the original Camembert cheese from raw milk, in Normandy, France, in 1971. Today, however, a very small percentage of producers make cheese from raw milk with the same process as Marie Harel would have used. Those that do produce cheese using this method can legally call their cheese Camembert Normandie under the AOC guidelines. However, the production of Camembert cheese has now transcended the AOC designation.

Very good varieties of Camembert cheese made from pasteurised milk can be found in Normandy today. The best of them is the Camembert Le Châtelain. The fresh Camembert cheese is bland, hard and crumbly in texture when fresh. As the cheese matures it forms a smooth, runny interior and a white bloomy rind that is typical to Camenbert cheese. It has a rich, buttery flavour. The rind is bloomy white caused by a white fungus, called penicillium candidum. It is meant to be eaten with the cheese. This cheese is best paired with a light red wine such as Beaujolais, Chenin Blanc, St Emilion, St Estephe or traditionally a glass of Normandy cider. Original Camembert has AOC designation only if made from raw milk. However, you will find many Camembert cheeses made from pasteurised milk both in and outside of France. Young Camembert has a milky and sweet taste, while after ripening it becomes strong and fruity.

Made from pasteurized or unpasteurized cow 's milk Country of origin: France Falaise, Vendeuvre, Camembert, Pays d'Auge, Normandy Bocage | Normandy B&B Falaise, Vendeuvre, Camembert and the Auge Region of Lower Normandy Pays d'Auge This route has as its main objectives visits to William the Conqueror's castle at Falaise and the stunning Château de Vendeuvre, then on to the famous village of Camembert. On the way you will pass farms where you can buy local produce such as cheese, foie gras, cider, honey, poiré etc. direct from the producers. Like every region of France, Normandy has its own distinctive cuisine and trademark ingredients. Apart from being blessed with seafood from the many fishing ports on the coast, the farms in the region are famous for their cream, cheese, butter, apples, pears and veal. The patchwork of fields and hedges that characterises Normandy between Alençon, Rouen and Caen is known as "bocage".

Cream from cows fed on the rich Normandy pastures is simply fabulous and is the main reason why butter from this region is considered by many as better than any other. Cream and apples feature in many traditional Normandy dishes. The kings of the local cheeses are undoubtedly Pont l'Eveque, Livarot and Camembert, each with its own special area of production. The local drinks are cider, calvados, benedictine, perry and pommeau. Calvados (or 'calva') is a sort of cider brandy; during a heavy meal a 'trou normand' is a tot of calva - sometimes an apple sorbet doused with calva - taken between courses to aid digestion before going on with the meal. Benedictine is a liqueur invented by the monks of Fécamp Abbey - funny how many alcoholic beverages were invented by monks. Perry is pear cider, while pommeau is a mix of 65% apple juice and 35% calvados aged in oak barrels. It is drunk as a chilled aperitif or at room temperature to accompany foie gras or dessert.

From Alençon, take the N138/D438 to Sées and where you bear off on a slip road to take the N158, signposted Caen, Argentan and Falaise. The château of William the Conqueror at Falaise is situated on a rocky spur which was once surrounded by marshes, wedged between the valleys of the rivers Ante and Marescot, a natural defensive site which dominates the city. Testifying to the power of the Anglo-Norman dukes and kings, this fortress was entirely erected in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is open to the public daily all year around from February to December, 10 am to 6 pm. From Falaise take the D271 to Vendeuvre with its famous château, water gardens and museum. The Château of Vendeuvre was built in 1750 by Alexandre le Forestier d'Osseville as a summer residence; it has been handed down from father to son ever since and is still occupied by the same family. Attributed to architect J.F.

Blondel, this château is the perfect illustration of a leisure residence and has managed to preserve much of its original decor and furniture. In the orangerie of the château, the Museum of Miniature Furniture displays more than 700 pieces of furniture and thousands of other 'Lilliputian' objects illustrating, on a reduced scale, the French furniture from the 16th century to the 1930s. You will also find three gardens around the castle : one in the formal French style, a utility garden and the famous water gardens - not to be missed! Opening hours, Chateau de Vendeuvre From 1st May to 30th September: every day from 11 am to 6 pm October: Sundays and bank holidays from 2 pm to 6 pm From Vendeuvre head south-east across the bocage in the general direction of Vimoutiers, a pretty little town worth a visit in its own right, though not part of this itinerary. If you have not stopped off at a farm already, you can visit Ollivier's farm shop at Crouttes to buy cider, cheese etc. Continue towards Camembert.

Visit the Camembert museum at the tourist office where the process of making this cheese is explained, or the Ferme President , centre for one of the major manufacturers of Camembert as well as other cheeses and butter. Opening hours, Maison de Camembert from 1/03 to 31/03 Thursday to Sunday (10 am to 5 pm) from 1/04 to 30/04 Wednesday to Sunday (10 am to 6 pm) from 1/05 to 30/08 every day (10 am to 7 pm) from 1/09 to 31/10 Wednesday to Sunday (10 am to 6 pm) Nearby, just to the south, Coudehard and Mont Ormel mark the spot where the allies finally won the Battle of Normandy and where the Battle of the Poche de Falaise raged between 18th-22nd August 1944, with the deaths of 12,000 soldiers. The Memorial Museum with armoured vehicles parked outside and panoramic view over the valley is very much worth a visit if time permits.

Opening hours, Memorial de Montormel From April 1st to April 30th open every day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm From May 1st to September 30th open every day from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm From October 1st to March 31st open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm The memorial is closed between December 15th and January 15th. Return via Gacé, taking either the D438 or A28 from there to Alençon. A taste of Normandy - camembert, cider and soul-warming calvados | Stuff.co.nz A taste of Normandy - camembert, cider and soul-warming calvados NIKKI MACDONALD Last updated 05:00, July 26 2015 Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald Nikki Macdonald The delightful village of Beuvron-en-Auge, in the heart of Normandy's cider route.

Outsize artichokes for sale at a typical Norman town market. The first course of our rustic Norman meal at Beuvron-en-Auge. Sausage and rough-cut terrine, washed down with a glass of local cider. Teurgoule - a regional specialty dessert which is slow-cooked for six hours. It resembles rice pudding with cinnamon. Normandy's three most famous cheeses - Pont l'Eveque, Livarot and Camembert. Note the camembert still looks chalky here as it has not yet had time to warm to room temperature. Oak barrels at the Pierre Huet distillery, where they make and age cider, apple brandy calvados and the aperitif pommeau. Bottles of calvados showing the way maturation changes the brandy's colour. 1 of 7 « Previous « Previous Next » Next » It might be France, but don't ask your waiter for a bottle of the local wine. You'll be laughed out of town. Or, in our case, the village of Beuvron-en-Auge, in the heart of cider country.

There are no vineyard rows striping the land here, only fields of Norman cows and orchards of small, tart apples no good for eating. Nikki Macdonald The picturesque village of Beuvron-en-Auge is at the heart of Normandy's cider route. Settle in for a long lunch in the northern French region of Normandy and you're likely to tick off at least two of the region's famed trinity of gastronomic goodness - cider, calvados and camembert. And where better to do it than in a village that speaks of the centuries of tradition that have shaped these jealously guarded regional specialities. Beuvron-en-Auge looks like a movie set, all ridiculously picturesque half-timbered houses with pink blossoms tumbling from hanging baskets; there are shops selling linen and hand-made lavender soaps; there's the cliched cafe spilling chattering old men onto the pavement; there's even a young man striding purposefully in jodhpurs, riding vest and boots, trailing a dalmatian. Nikki Macdonald Normandy is dairy country and is famous for its raw milk camembert.

Every third property sells or makes cider, which explains the village's inclusion on the Pays d'Auge's 40-kilometre cider route. But there's no camera or crew to be seen. Like most French regional specialties, such as champagne and roquefort cheese, Norman cider is protected by the Appellation D'Origine Controlee (AOC), which sets out strict criteria for both where and how the cider is made. The same goes for the region's apple brandy calvados and its gooey camembert cheese. Nikki Macdonald A massive fibreglass tank used to hold cider at Pierre Huet distillery. But I'm getting ahead of myself - cheese and calvados are the full stop at the end of the meal. Ad Feedback We're seated at a long monk's refectory table in the courtyard dining room at Aux Trois Damoiselles, a local bed and breakfast. They don't usually operate as a restaurant so this is as close as it gets to being invited around to a French family's Sunday lunch. Nikki Macdonald A bottle of 8-year reserve calvados, or apple brandy.

The starter terrine is a chunky bite of the country, the vege quiche is simple, rustic goodness and the dessert is another regional specialty, teurgoule. Baked for six hours, it's a kind of cinnamon-tinged rice pudding that looks like a family-sized creme caramel, emerging as it does in a great earthenware bowl topped with a thick brown skin. It's all washed down with a glass of smooth local cider. This is to pale, frothy fizz what English ale is to a light lager. Nikki Macdonald The perfect pair - apple tart and apple brandy. It's a warm golden colour and light on bubbles. More like a rich apple juice with a slightly sour note of fermentation. The perfect pairing for Norman cider is, inevitably, camembert cheese. If you've never had real French camembert, forget everything you think you know about this creamiest of cheeses. The shiny ooze that yields to the lightest of touches has nothing whatsoever to do with the insipid, chalky, foil wrapped variety that often passes for camembert on New Zealand supermarket shelves.

Although it comes out firm, by the time it has tempered for the hour it takes to eat our meal it's a mess of delicious goo, held together only by the velvety rind. As legend has it, the cheese was first made in 1791 by Norman farmer Marie Harel, who lived in the town of Camembert. At the time of the French Revolution, she gave asylum to a priest from Brie, who taught her the cheese-making secrets of his home town. It was popularised, however, during World War I, when it sustained French soldiers as part of their rations. With its generally cool climate and high rainfall, Normandy is perfect for dairy farming. They even have their own particular Norman cow, cream with brown spots and brown sunglasses, bred for both meat and its rich milk. The key to a true Camembert de Normandie is that it must be made from raw, unpasteurised milk. The region's creamy milk is also used to make the lively, orange-coloured washed rind cheese Livarot and the square-shaped Pont L'Eveque. Down the road at Pierre Huet distillery the humble apple is transformed into every shade of liquid lunch.

On its 30 hectares of orchard, this fifth-generation distillery grows 25 different varieties of apple. More like crabapples than fat, sweet Braeburns, the knobbly nuggets are classified into bitter, acidic, sweet or bittersweet varieties. The apples are pressed to extract the juice, which is the basis for all of Pierre Huet's four main products - apple juice, cider, pommeau and calvados. The longer the juice is fermented, the more natural sugar is used up and the drier the cider will be. A month of fermentation will get you sweet cider, lightly alcoholic at 2-3 per cent. Two to three months fermentation produces a semi-dry cider while 4-5 months results in a dry cider with an alcohol content of about 5 per cent. Where apple juice fermentation ends, calvados or apple brandy begins. The first official reference to the distillation of cider into apple brandy in Normandy dates back to 1553. By 1606, the Norman apple brandy makers had set up their own guild.

If you didn't know you weren't in vineyard country, the cellars of Pierre Huet might dupe you into thinking you had stumbled upon a winery. Like wine, calvados is aged in great barrels of French oak. The dark wood gives it colour and mellows its flavour. You know you're in a country bound up in tradition when there's a cooper, or barrel maker, just 15km away. But unlike wine, calvados is distilled before being aged. Double distilled, in fact, if it's a true Pays d'Auge calvados bearing the AOC mark. There are three different AOC calvados types, all from Normandy. Calvados Pays d'Auge is the oldest, having gained AOC classification in 1942. Calvados from Domfrontais, in the south of the region, is made from at least 30 per cent pears. All are aged in oak for at least two years before marketing, but even then they are considered young and best used for cooking and cocktails. Like wine, calvados distillers also have a cellar master, who blends the golden spirits of different ages and characters to create the perfect mix.

The 40 per cent, 8-year-old calvados we try tickles the tongue and bursts into the brain. It's warming but doesn't scour the throat. I prefer the pommeau, a sherry-like aperitif made from a mix of apple juice and calvados aged together for at least 14 months. But I'm not sure if that's an acceptable substitute for one of the primary purposes of calvados - the fabled Trou Normand, or Norman hole. As our guide Estelle explains, calvados is to her synonymous with a sprawling Sunday lunch with family, stretching from 1pm to 4pm, where you "take time to speak about your life". In between courses they have a shot of calvados to aid digestion and make a hole in the stomach. So that then you can do it all over again. The writer was a guest of Avalon Waterways and Cathay Pacific. - Stuff History of the Norman cheeses - Norman cheeses - Taste Camembert Cheeses in Normandy Nowadays Normandy is the leading region in France for the production of cheese. This success is due to its wonderful soil but also to a long tradition of cheesemaking.

Geography Cheeses are produced almost everywhere in Normandy, but the cheesemaking industry is highly developed in only two parts of it : the Auge country ("le Pays d'Auge") and the Bray country ("le Pays de Bray"). The first one extends over three French departments (Orne, Calvados and Eure). It produces Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Evï¿½que and is generally specialized in soft flowered rind cheeses The second one (the Bray country) is located in the eastern part of Normandy in the "Seine Maritime" (a French department) and is the birthplace of Neufchï¿½tel. This area is generallly specialized in soft flowered rind cheeses and in double and triple cremes. History Since the early hours of Normandy in 911 A.D. (and even previous to that), cheeses have been made in Normandy. Throughout the Middle Ages cheesemaking was only considered as a part of farm activity. Nevertheless, in Normandy it soon became a bit more important than in other French regions (proof of this is that taxes on cheeses were rapidly created).

We know, for example, that the Duke Richard gave to the Saint-Sauveur Abbey in Evreux the amount of the taxes on cheese collected in Quitteboeuf. For centuries, the Bray country was the main centre of the Norman cheese industry; the Auge country was a mixed farming area also specialized in textiles. Top of the page During the XIIth and XIIIth centuries Norman dairies had to face the competition from the English ones. At that time English cheeses were famous and well-known in Normandy - each year dozens of them were imported into Normandy. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a golden age for the Norman dairies, which benefited from numerous "technology" exchanges with England. We know little about the cheeses produced in those days : nothing about their genuine recipes, their shapes, or their tastes. Moreover, thay were sold under the generic brand "Angelots" whatever their real type. Fortunately some of the more typical ones became famous and began to be named according to the name of their birth place or to the name of market where they could be found. That's how the Livarot, the Pont-l'Evï¿½que and the Neuchï¿½tel got their names.

Until the end of the XVIIIth century, things didn't change, although some of the cheeses became well known in France and particularly in Paris - and sometimes in England. Nevertheless, the production remained low due to the difficulties of selling cheeses far from the production dairies. Top of the page The XIXth century new technologies inverted this situation. The cheesemaking methods, the introduction of machines, the use of wood boxes, but also the railroads and even later the automobile, changed the collection of the milk, the production of cheese and its distribution. These changes were rapidly adopted in the Auge country where traditionnal agriculture was going through a crisis. A high number of farms/dairies were created, where the women were first in charge of the cheeses. Throughout this century the size of these "farms" had increased, and at the end of the XIX the century the production was dominated by large families of cheesesmakers. This success is perfectly embodied by its youngest representative: the Camembert cheese. The XXth century was marked by the foundation of large multinational companies and of large cooperatives. At the same time, cheesemaking became more and more industrialized.

Visits & tastings - Normandy Tourism, France Visits & tastings Most producers are delighted to welcome visitors, from the Camembert Cheese farm to the Palais Benedictine or various Calvados distilleries where all the stages of production are explained to and tasted by the visitor. This will give you both an insight into Normandy's traditions and an understanding of the production processes. Beaches, relaxation and discoveries in less than 2 hours from Paris. Must-Tastes of the Normandy Landing Zone: 4 Norman Cheeses – France Revisited - Life in Paris, Travel in France Tasted, Tested Though your primary interest in visiting Lower Normandy may be the Landing Beaches and various sights of the Invasion of Normandy 1944, it’s the greenery of inland Normandy that first grabs your attention when arriving from Paris—that and the hedgerows, the apple orchards, the traditional half-timbered homes and barns, the horses, and, most importantly, the cows.

The temperate coastal climate of this region, where clouds and rain are rarely far from sight, gives rise to a lush landscape highly suitable for the grazing of milk cows, making this region a major producer of milk, cream, and butter in France and home to famous cheeses—Camembert de Normandie, Livarot, Pont-l’Eveque, and Neufchatel—that are must-tastes for anyone visiting Normandy. Honoring the region’s dairy-producing heritage, the term à la Normande generally refers to dishes with sauces containing fresh cream and/or butter though it might also refer to the addition of apples, cidre (hard cider), or Calvados (apple brandy). Come expecting dishes with olive oil and other staples of the Mediterranean diet at your own risk. While the coast naturally offers menus of fish and seafood, inland Normandy thinks more in terms of beef and veal. Locally raised duck, notable the canard de Rouen, also appears on many menus. Add apples or the apple-based beverages cidre and Calvados and you’ve got a meal the makings of a great, hearty meal. Restaurants serving local fare will be explored in a separate article to be posted this month.

For now, setting aside the full meal, this article goes directly to the cheese tray or to a picnic by the beach of ripe cheese and fresh bread. But let’s begin with those cows. La Vache Normande/The Norman Cow The traditional cow of the region is the Norman cow, la vache normande, that produces rich, high-quality milk. The Norman is a hearty, hefty race that was developed in the 19th century and whose genealogy was codified in 1883. After World War II the high-producing workaday Holstein took over the landscape, in part to replace the numerous Normans that had been killed during the Invasion of Normandy, in part to hike up production with increasingly industrial farming. However, since the 1990s the Norman has made a comeback. You’ll recognize her by her irregular dark brown robe, a white stomach, and a white face with dark brown or black “glasses,” like that lazing vache in the photo above. The Four Cheeses 1.

Camembert de Normandie Camembert, among the most famous names in French cheese-making, is said to have originated in Normandy in 1791 on the farm of Marie Harel, when a priest from the Brie region (just east of Paris), having fled here while on the run from the anti-clerical, anti-monarchy revolution then sweeping France, taught her how to transform her usual cheese-making technique so as to make a cheese with a white “crust” or rind à la Brie. The new cheese was initially associated with the village of Camembert and surroundings. As with the majority of French cheeses, the name of Camembert and the other three major Norman cheeses comes from that of its early village or town of production. The numbers on the map accompanying this article show their location. However, the current production zone may now extend well beyond the place whose name is bears, as is the case with Camembert de Normandie, which may be produced in various zones in Normandy.

Camembert went from being local production sold in the markets of Calvados’s Pays d’Auge area (a fine wandering zone for the truly green traveler) to a wider regional production to a national cheese. That third step came thanks to the arrival of the train, which allowed quick shipment to Paris, the belly of France, and specifically to the belly of Paris, its central food market at Les Halles. In the late 19th century a national reputation didn’t necessarily mean that camembert was eaten throughout France but that the tastemakers in the capital knew about it. For shipping purposes the cheese was contained in round wooden boxes that would become its packaging signature toward the end of the 19th century, a period that also saw the development of large-scale cheese producers in the region. Camembert truly became a national symbol during WWI when it was included in rations given to soldiers. Due to the needs of the army, camembert production was not limited to Normandy.

Therefore, despite attempts to declare camembert an AOC or “controlled appellation of origin” that would allow only those cheeses produced in a specific area of Normandy with the milk of Norman cows to be called camembert, camembert was eventually declared a generic term for this type of cheese. However, in 1983 “Camembert de Normandie” (as opposed to simply “camembert”) received an AOC designating a raw milk cheese molded by ladle and with a fat content of at least 45 percent, molded in a round shape 10.5-11 centimeters in diameter and produced in specific areas in Normandy. What was formerly known as AOC for cheese is now (as of May 1, 2009) officially called AOP,appellation d’origine protégé (protected appellation of origin). Finding a wooden box that contains a round cheese with camembert’s characteristic white mold isn’t enough. First, look for “Camembert de Normandie” on the box if you want the get intimate with the best of camembert.

The majority of Camembert de Normandie producers are located in the southeast corner of Calvados, though several others are found further west in the region. Since the tastiest camemberts are made of raw milk, lait cru is what you should look for if your personal health certificate allows. Fans of camembert enjoy it at different times in its maturation/riping process, but generally speaking you’ll want the heart be soft enough to slightly but not fully bulge out when cut open. In search of the ideal ripeness you’ll notice that in a cheese shop (fromagerie) the cheese seller (fromager or fromagère) will take off the top of the box to give a squeeze in order to see how ripe it is. Shoppers do the same in the cheese section of supermarkets. When you do open a ripe camembert, don’t be afraid of slight red staining along the side as that’s just due to the ripening. You’ll also find in Normandy cidre-soaked camembert, whereby the round has been soaked in hard cider during a portion of its maturing process.

Camembert mariné au cidre can have a slightly bitter smell to it, and it naturally takes on a slight (or less slight) taste of the cidre, which some people may find aggressive. Since a full round of the cidre-soaked camembert can be overkill, most cheese shops sell halves or even quarters. Love it or leave it, cidre-soaked camembert is worth a taste because it’s as local as you can get in terms of ingredients. Beware: A camembert that declares itself Fabriqué en Normandie , without the AOP/AOC “Camembert de Normandie,” simply means that a cheese was made in Normandy but is not a particular sign of quality. While it’s always nice to eat local products, it’s even nicer to eat excellent local products. 2. Livarot Livarot, named for a village in the same area of Normandy as the village of Camembert, is another round cow cheese but is stronger and denser than camembert.

Whereas camembert, even when strong and ripe, is rich and creamy, Livarot can feel sticky and taste somewhat biting as though someone left it in a cave and forgot about it for a month or more—at least that’s the case with the best of them. Though contemporary tastes have milded it down a bit, a very mild Livarot is of as little interest as a sugar-free chocolate éclair. Livarot comes strapped with three strips of rush or rush-like paper, like the stripes of a colonel, which is why it also goes by the nickname Le Colonel. 3. Pont-l’Eveque The grandfather of Norman cheeses, produced in the area around the town of Pont-l’Eveque since the 12th century and already exported to other regions in the 17th century, this is another soft cheese with a brushed or washed rind. It comes in a square, like a paving stone, however you needn’t by the full square as many cheese shops also sell rectangular halves. Though Pont-l’Eveque can have a strong smell, it’s relatively mild compared with Livarot and ripe Camembert.

At its best there’s an aged richness whereby the smell is pronounced but not overpowering and the taste is smooth, almost sweet. 4. Neufchâtel Neufchâtel can come in squares or logs but is most commonly produced in its heart-shaped version. It comes from a very localized area around the town of Neufchâtel-en-Bray in Upper Normandy, which is north of the primary zone for the other Norman AOP cheeses and removed from the area covered in the series of Normandy Landing Zone articles on France Revisited. Because its zone is more localized, Neufchâtel has a smaller production than the other three cheeses and is less well known. Cheese has been made in the Neufchâtel area since the 11th century, which could allow it to claim seniority over Pont-l’Eveque, however the Pont-l’Eveque’s reputation early on has earned it a stronger historical claim. As with Camembert de Normandie, a peach-fuzz of mold can naturally form on the Neufchâtel rind, particularly its raw-milk version. You may wish to remove the rind or not.

Inside, the cheese is creamy and smooth and can be tasty both young and properly aged. Though the smell naturally becomes more pronounced with age, it is generally mild compared with Camembert and certainly compared with Livarot. Preparing a picnic There’s plenty of industrial cheese around, especially in supermarkets, even if it is made in Normandy, but to know the best of Norman cheeses you should head into a cheese shop where you’ll find more artisanal, and better yet fermier (farm-produced) cheeses. Good restaurants conscientious about their cheese trays are the other place to try them. Despite a temptation to put these cheeses in the refrigerator they are best left out, particularly if ambient temperature is below 60 degrees. If you do wish to refrigerate, say at night while at a hotel, it’s advisable not to re-refrigerate, not just for health reasons but because it messes up the natural maturing process of the cheese. Though the better cheeses will retain some of their interest with re-refrigeration the more average ones loose what little interest they ever had. Better to keep them out, without overheating them; leave a raw milk cheese in the trunk of the car for 12 hours on a warm day at your own risk.

The wisest and tastiest way to go about preparing your picnic as you travel is to stop by the fromagerie during the day of your picnic and tell the fromager or fromagère (depending on whether the husband or the wife is minding the shop) that the cheese is for consumption that afternoon. If you already have a sense of Norman cheese ripeness you can tell him/her what ripeness you prefer, otherwise let the expert advise. The bread store is probably within a storefront or two of the cheese shop, and also nearby you’ll likely also find some good regional charcuterie (cold-cuts). Tell the charcutier/charcutière (depending on which is having a tryst with thefromager/fromagère) that you want a few slices of something local, then go with the flow. Ideally you’ll try each of the four Norman AOP cheeses, but if there isn’t enough interest (or aren’t enough mouths) in your travel party to warrant all that for a single picnic then just try one or two per day—or go to a restaurant with a good cheese tray.

Drinks to accompany Norman cheeses Northwest France, from Brittany to the Belgian border, has no serious vineyards, nevertheless, all four cheeses described above are enhanced with a glass of red. If you want to be picky and are looking to match the depth of the wine with the strength of the cheese it’s worth nothing that Livarot can be strong enough to overpower many reds; it’s well suited for a bold pinot or something with a bite of “noble rot” to it. Or go local chic by having a glass of Calvados with your Livarot Camembert can be accompanied by a cabernet or a merlot or any grape or combination of grapes growing within 50 miles of Bordeaux or with something relatively full-bodied from the Loire Valley. The Loire Valley vineyards are closer to Normandy than those of Bordeaux, so in the name of local travel I vote for the Loire for the picnic. Neufchâtel also does well with fruiter wines from the Loire Valley, Beaujolais, or the Rhone Valley. Pont l’Eveque and Neufchâtel, as the mildest of these four cheeses, are also well accompanied by a cool glass of cidre.

Water is always an acceptable alternative for all four and obligatory for whoever’s driving after the picnic. Visiting a cheese production facilities For health reasons small producers can’t give public tours since a special sanitation set-up would be required in order to allow outsiders to witness the cheese-making process. Graindorge, a semi-industrial (or mixed artisanal-industrial) producer of the major cow cheeses associated with Normandy gives tours in which visitors can observe the process from behind a glass wall. Their production facility is located in the town of Livarot, west of Caen. See for details. Between Utah and Omaha Beaches, you’ll pass Isigny (number 5 on the accompanying map), a town especially known for its production of butter and cream. As with the cheeses noted above, Beurre d’Isigny and Crème d’Isigny are both recognized appellations. The workshops of the Milk-product Cooperative of Isigny Saint-Mère, a major regional producer of butter, cream, camembert and Pont l’Eveque, can be visited weekdays in July and August during regularly scheduled guided tours, otherwise by appointment from Easter to mid-October. See for details.

Isigny is also known for its irresistible, damn-the-calories caramels. For information on caramel factory tours, in French only, see . Or simply buy some anywhere in the Landing Zone. Cheesy websites Association of producers of Camembert de Normandy AOC: Association of producers of Livarot AOC: Association of producers of Pont-l’Eveque AOC: Association of producers of Neufchatel AOC: If focusing on back-road travels in Pays d’Auge you might consult the site routeducidre.free.fr © 2009, Gary Lee Kraut Normandy Cheeses | Specialty Cheeses from Normandy Normandy is Famous for its Cheese Making Tradition: Normandy Cheeses © Atout France / CDT Calvados Normandy is a cheese producing region and it has its great cows to thank for the abundance of rich milk that they produce. Well known specialty cheeses in Normandy include Camembert, Pavé d’Auge, Livarot, Pont l’Evêque, Neufchatel, Boursin, Brillat-Savarain and Brin de Paille.

And if, like me, you love French soft cheeses, the following four Normandy AOC cheeses are sure to send your tastebuds into meltdown: Buttery-textured Camembert de Normandie Creamy Neufchâtel, and Golden-coloured Pont-l’Évêque If you’re travelling in the Pays d’Auge region and are interested in learning about how to make cheese, farms here welcome visitors to learn about the history and processes of Normandy cheese making – from milking the cows, to fermentation and storing and finally the wrapping and boxing of each of its celebrated cheese. The village of Camembert, in the heart of the Auge region, is where Camembert was first created in 1791. At the President Farm ( the Camembert Museum takes visitors on a journey back to the time when Camembert was first produced and tells the Camembert story. Graindorge Village Fromager in the canton of Livarot ( is one of the dairies that produce all four AOC cheeses. The dairy also welcomes visitors to take a free tour of its cheese making workshops.

From the specially-designed viewing galleries you’ll have an exclusive peek into the industrious production workshops, whilst video displays, audio presentations and information points explain each stage of the complex cheese making process. No doubt there’ll be cheese tasting and you’ll also be able to buy some of their famous AOC cheeses. Normandy, France, Cuisine Scene, travel information to prepare your Adventure Cuisine Scene Normandy is haute-cuisine heaven for food lovers and visitors seeking authentic culinary experiences. Famous for its dairy products, like butter, milk, cream and cheese, the region is also world wide renowned for its apples. Most restaurants in Normandy will use locally sourced products. . Some producers are delighted to welcome visitors, from the Camembert Cheese farm to the Palais Benedictine or various Calvados distillery where all steps of production are explained to and tasted by the visitor. This will give you an insight into Normandyâ€™s traditions and you will learn the production processes. Seafood heaven With its extensive coastline, seafood is one of Normandyâ€™s specialities, from shellfish, to lobster, clams, whelks, scallops, mussels and oysters from the Manche and Calvados.

Oysters are classified, like cheeses and wines, with their own AOC (Controlled Origin Name). Clams, whelks, scallops, mussels and oysters from Normandy Seafood will feature on most menus from Dieppe to AlenÃ§on which often combine fish with the regionâ€™s other culinary specialities, such as Sauce Ã la CrÃ¨me or au Camembert. Particular treats is Dieppeâ€™s fish stew, called Marmite Dieppoise or Port en Bessinâ€™s famous scallops or Coquilles St Jacques. Meat eatersâ€™ paradise Normandyâ€™s main courses are often meat-based. Poultry is common on regional menus, including the tasty Canard Ã la Rouennaise using local duck from the Seine Valley but other types of meat such as veal or pork feature too, frequently cooked in cream or cider. Another local treat is â€œPrÃ© SalÃ© lambâ€�, often served in the southern part of the Manche and given this name because the sheep are reared on the salt marshes surrounding Mont St Michel.

â€œPrÃ© SalÃ© lambâ€� from sheep reared on the salt marshes Further inland you are likely to come across more traditional dishes chitterling from Vire, andouille in French, or black pudding in the Perche area. Tripe is another Norman speciality, traditionally from Caen. Dream cheese

Question: Which French region produces Camembert cheese, Benedictine and Calvados?
Answer: Normandy